Here is what some experts (from different schools of meditation) have got to say -

Swami Satyananda Said:

" Yoga is meditation and meditation is yoga - Never forget it". Yoga and meditation can both be seen as processes and goals."

According to Swami Chinmayananda:

" Meditation has been glorified as the most sacred vocation. Humans alone are capable of the highest effort, by which they can hasten their own evolution. In preparing ourselves for meditation, we should first acquire the ability to look within. You must learn to go about your daily routine and uninterruptedly watch the mind…Let it be a silent observer of the workings of your inner life and estimate the motives, intentions and purposes that lie behind your thoughts, words and deeds. "

Meditation has often been misunderstood as thinking or contemplation. But it is not so,

As Swami Bhajananda (Former Editor of the journal Prabuddha Bharat and trustee of Ramakrishna Mission) says:

" Meditation is not an entirely independent discipline but a stage in concentration common to almost all spiritual paths. In every path, the aspirant begins with a large number of thoughts in the mind. These gradually become reduced, and the aspirant reaches a stage when there exists only one thought in the mind. "

Self realisation is possible when science blends with spirituality..

As Vethathiri Maharishi a spiritual teacher says:

" Meditation is a scientific method of enhancing the capacity of the mind. It fixes the mind on one's magnetic force, enhancing the ability to focus. This is the key to self realization. "

As Osho says:

" The whole purpose of meditation is to make you aware of your kingdom, to make you aware of your highest potential. "

Dr. Adam Burke ( a research psychologist & an assistant professor at San Francisco State University) has been studying brain wave patterns and states of mind during meditation states. He says:

" Meditation is the study of attention. Attention is cognitive phenomenon. Meditation is the capacity of the brain to attend to something over a period of time. "